Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Tribal Shaman Pays a Visit

“Brother Zulu, you’re here.”

Zulu came closer, eyes narrowing slightly. “What is it?”

“There’s something. See if you can eat it.”

Su Yan placed a single soybean in his palm.

Zulu had smelled a pleasant scent the moment he entered, warm and faintly sweet. Now he knew where it came from.

“What is this?”

“Soybeans. A plant.”

“A seed?”

“Mm.”

A soft glow gathered at Zulu’s fingertip—wood-element energy, gentle and controlled. It wrapped around the soybean like a warm cocoon.

The bean swelled. Light shimmered across its skin. In the space of a few breaths it sprouted, stretched into a vivid green plant, flowered, fruited, and ripened.

An entire lifetime of growth—compressed into moments, leaves unfurling like green flames.

Su Yan stared. “You… how did you do that?”

“I have dual wood-and-water talent.”

He plucked the mature soybeans and handed them to her.

“Dual talent?” Su Yan’s eyes widened. “That’s unbelievable.”

“It’s nothing.” Zulu’s gaze lingered on her, steady and intent. “Your rare fire-type is more unusual.”

“At my level, all I can do is light a fire.”

She shelled the beans, then raised her fingertip. A small flame bloomed—bright, sharp, and dangerous in its beauty. She burned the dried stalks to ash in a breath, heat washing over her knuckles.

“It’s fine,” Zulu murmured. “I’ll support you.”

His eyes were hot, almost mesmerized, like he couldn’t look away even if he tried.

Su Yan wasn’t naïve. Before she came to the Beast World, she’d had a boyfriend on Earth.

He’d been a powerful family’s crown prince—someone who treated love like a pastime, a game to satisfy desire. She’d given him everything, and he’d returned humiliation.

And murder.

To be reborn on Earth, she’d agreed to bind herself to the Childbearing System. It wasn’t sacrifice. It was emptiness. Her heart had already died. She no longer believed she could love anyone.

Now, watching Zulu look at her like that… it was too much like her former self.

“Brother Zulu,” she said quietly, stepping back, “don’t think too highly of me. I’m not worth it.”

She ducked past him and left the kitchen.

The sudden shift hit Zulu like a slap. He stood there, stunned, as if his feet had rooted to the floor.

When feelings couldn’t be returned, Su Yan compensated the only way she could.

With her body.

With every trick and every posture, she gave Zulu pleasures so sharp and overwhelming he could barely breathe.

Skills she’d learned once, long ago, to please another man.

Days passed.

Su Yan’s belly swelled as if inflated, rounding fast, growing heavy.

Her certainty had been the truth—she really was pregnant.

Zulu, who’d indulged with such abandon, regretted it so fiercely it made him sick.

He rushed back to the rabbit clan village at once.

…

Ever since Grom became a tribal shaman, she hadn’t gone to any female’s home to confirm pregnancy.

Su Yan was the first. Not only did Grom come—she arrived with gifts.

Su Yan sat on a long bench covered in beast-hide, watching Grom like she was a different person. The warmth in the shaman’s gaze was the same tenderness she’d once given only Ashley.

It made Su Yan feel flattered—and uneasy.

“The baby in my belly…” Su Yan asked carefully. “It’s alright?”

“Fine, fine,” Grom said, beaming. “Lively and strong. Growing beautifully.”

Little Luo, unable to hold back his curiosity, blurted, “Lord Tribal Shaman, didn’t you say my sister had no fertility? Why didn’t the fertility stone react?”

Grom answered patiently, “It may be related to her constitution. In our mouse clan, no one stays the same size as childhood after they grow up. Since she’s a mutant strain, she can’t be compared to ordinary females.”

“So my sister really is special,” Little Luo said, half awed.

“Yes. There’s no doubt now—she is a very good female.” Grom’s voice turned solemn with promise. “When she gives birth, I will personally help deliver the babies.”

Every tribal shaman valued new bloodline in their tribe—sometimes more than their own life.

Grom’s earlier displeasure toward Su Yan had been tied to Ashley. Now Ashley had delivered one female and four males safely, and Lin Lang treated her better. That knot in Grom’s heart had loosened.

With Su Yan pregnant as well, bringing new life to the mouse clan, Grom was openly satisfied.

Since the coming-of-age ceremony, Su Yan was the second pregnant female. That alone proved her fertility was strong.

“Thank you, Tribal Shaman,” Su Yan said.

Oro stepped forward with a hide bag in his hands. “Sorry to trouble you to come. In the future, Yan Er will rely on you again.”

“No need.” Grom didn’t take the bag. “It’s my duty. Since everything is fine, I’ll go now. I need to tell the Clan Chief this good news.”

Oro personally walked her out.

But no sooner had Grom left than Zulu arrived, dragging the rabbit clan’s tribal shaman along with him.

Oro hurried to welcome them inside.

Su Yan, who’d just been about to rest, endured another check.

When the rabbit clan’s tribal shaman also confirmed she was pregnant—and in excellent condition—Zulu’s shoulders finally loosened, as if he’d been holding his breath for days.

After seeing the shaman off, Zulu returned to the cave room. Su Yan lay on the bed, eyes heavy with sleep.

“Yan Yan…” His voice was thick with guilt.

Su Yan opened her eyes and smiled. “I’m skinny, but I’m sturdy. The child is fine.”

Zulu swallowed, then spoke like a vow. “From now on, I’ll treat you well with my life.”

Su Yan touched her belly. “Your child says it wants fresh tenderloin.”

“I’ll go catch a deer right now.”

Zulu jumped up and left at once.

Little Luo came in carrying a bamboo tube cup of cow’s milk. “Sister, I haven’t properly congratulated you.”

Su Yan accepted it with a smile. “Congratulations to you too. You’re going to be an uncle. Now hurry up and bring me back a sister-in-law.”

Little Luo’s ears reddened. “How could it be that fast?”

He thought of his low talent and thin body. No female would want him.

Su Yan drank, then handed the empty cup back. “If you don’t chase one, how will one ever come? Females don’t fall from the sky. And if one does, she probably has bad intentions.”

“I get it. You rest and keep the baby steady. My business isn’t urgent.”

Su Yan’s eyes narrowed, suddenly suspicious. “Wait. Don’t tell me you don’t like females?”

Given how many more males there were than females, it wasn’t unheard of for males to pair up. The Clan Chief didn’t encourage it, but he didn’t strictly forbid it either. Too many males meant too much excess energy, and even the breeding den couldn’t keep up.

Little Luo stared at her like she’d sprouted horns. “Stop imagining things. My orientation is normal.”

Oro stepped in with salted jerky and caught the end of it. He snorted. “Enough nonsense. Tomorrow, the rabbit clan’s tribal shaman arranged for a rabbit clan female to go with you to the Greenwood Plains Beast Forest to pick fruit. Her fertility is upper-mid-grade. Pretty good. You’d better behave.”

“Mm,” Little Luo mumbled, face turning crimson.

Su Yan took the jerky, ate a couple of bites, then reached under her pillow and pulled out two items she’d bought from the System Shop: a lipstick and a folding makeup mirror.

She handed them to Little Luo. “If you like her tomorrow, give her this. And if she doesn’t know how to use it, she can come find me. I’ll teach her.”